Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has spent the last five years in Queens. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy, their son, Desmond Shearwater, and their two indoor cats, Hunter and B.B. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications.

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Erik Bruder

October 12, 2012 7:16:40 am

I lived in Wisconsin for 3 years and I saw something very similar. To make the event more “sporting” the birds were loaded into spring loaded boxes that popped them about 10′ into the air. The fact that 30 people were standing in a line 20′ away ready to blast the bird into pieces didn’t seem to be un-sporting.

I found this incredible. I hadn’t heard of this before. Mankind continues to amaze. Someone please explain the sport in this to me. It sure as hell isn’t hunting as most people know it. Or at least I hope so.

Nooooo, wait, wait wait … Let me get this straight: this kind of stuff is LEGAL in the USA?
I mean, like the shooting, the kicking around, smashing the bird’s head against the boots etc.? People are allowed to do this?

Thanks for posting about this. The pigeon shoots are such a travesty, largely supported by the NRA which also helps underwrite significant legislation which expands hunting rights for all sportsmen and women. The legislative inaction on this is unforgivable. Of course, pigeons, not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, are routinely abused for sport and also mutilated in dog training exercises for bird hunting. If people saw even half of what truly constitutes bloodsport in all of its legal facets, I doubt there would be as much acceptance of it as a ‘recreational’ wildlife activity.